Fionn

I'd turn the input and output controls to minimum. Bring up the input until the signal from your bass is just clipping the orange led, then bring up the output until the volume between the effected and dry signal is the same (unity).

Are you saying that the led meter is constantly maxed out? Does the threshold control have no effect whatsoever?

this ... [url="http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=2864&sid=705&cid=95"]http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=2864&sid=705&cid=95[/url]

[quote name='tobiewharton' timestamp='1389379655' post='2333693'] Will the 10-inch speakers give enough low end for a five-string too? How advisable is an extension cab such as the Genz Benz FCS-115T? Thanks again. [/quote] 10" speakers are perfectly fine for a five string bass. I would be inclined to go for a 2x10" extension cab.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1389308724' post='2332818'] Surprised as you may be, but the thing I dislike most about that is the pickup choice and placement... [/quote] For sure. It doesn't look too shabby for £170.

[quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1389287949' post='2332437'] name and shame id say [/quote] Absolutely.

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1389172353' post='2330772'] Pocket science? [/quote] hahaha! brilliant.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1389152836' post='2330703'] I can see the logic of that thinking, about transmission of vibrations etc. However, in practice... how much a shim compromises this? I have used shims, and one of my basses has a micro-tilt mechanism to achieve what a shim achieves... and have I ever felt the basses were inferior in any way? Not at all. When I installed a shim, the only difference has been that I was able to improve the playability of an instrument without hurting its sound whatsoever... Shims allow to adjust the neck/body angle subtly but significantly. Mass production basses are not all identical, some neck pockets/necks fit better than others... it's the way they're made. Elegant? Perhaps not much. But it works and I doubt anybody would be able to tell whether a bass has a shim without dismantling it. I know I could not. [/quote] Maybe so, but that's not a thing which is well made. Is it unreasonable to expect that an instrument which costs several hundred pounds should have an accurately constructed neck joint? In this example of mass-production, is it unreasonable to expect that the manufacturer should take the time to match necks to the bodies of these expensive products? In my professional opinion (I'm a silversmith), anything less is plain sloppiness/ complacency on the part of the manufacturer. The joiner who fitted my kitchen would get that join right, so a company which has made millions of guitars should be able to do the same, it's not rocket science. Opinions will differ. I've heard it said that the charm of Fenders is in their apparent "imperfections". That is maybe so, but It makes a mockery of those folk who bang on about the tonal difference between a rosewood and maple fretboard, etc. Such fine nuances, translated through a shim .... really???

Does anyone know what the fingerboard radius is on old Aria SB's? I've got a fretless SB900 (1981). The previous owner had been using round-wounds and has marked the fingerboard a wee bit. He has really dug in on the "A" string and created tiny wee grooves at the 3rd and 5th fret positions. I would like to smooth it back to perfection, so I can get the action as low as a thick mwahhhh will permit. I just need to know which radius block to buy (or borrow) for the task.

[quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1388937783' post='2327819'] Robbie favours a Jazz these days, like Fams - sometimes a stack knob. This is an older gig, worth a look if you haven't seen it: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U4nm0Vvcz8&feature=share&list=PL4CF8C1F37C208FFC&index=20[/media] [/quote] Excellent! that was my soundtrack for work this morning. Well posted!

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1389023369' post='2328909'] Out of interest what types and styles of music do you play and get the sounds you want all out of a bridge pickup ? [/quote] Stylewise, I suppose I'm predominantly a fingerstyle funk player. Stabby, stacatto, I like playing clean pronounced lines, so I find myself almost always on the bridge pickup. I like the tightness and focus of the tone. My right hand is mostly playing at the bridge pickup postition too. I'm in a new project, arranging ancient Gaelic song (mostly puirt-a-beul) onto thick grooves. It's sounding great. Should be gigging it by summer

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1389010897' post='2328660'] I reckon my pickup positioning is perfect. And, as I mentioned before, the blended tones are surprisingly excellent too. [/quote] Cool man. That's a real bonus that you've found what really works for you. It's also good that you've got the confidence to mod your basses to suit your needs, as those are such unusual placements. I'd be happy enough with a single bridge positioned (as per Sandberg position) humbucker that switched between parallel and series. Volume and tone controls on that bad boy and I'd be covered for the sounds I want. BTW, I really like what you've done to that other Thunder ... very nice indeed.

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1388994984' post='2328433'] I suspect that manufacturers like Sandberg position their bridge humbucker where it is for mainly cosmetic reasons. The positioning I have shown in the OP may look cumbersome as we are not used to it, but for a variety of useful tones it is way ahead IMO. [/quote] I would doubt very much that Sandberg place their pickups where they do for cosmetic reasons. They position their bridge pickups closer to the traditional Jazz bridge pickup position which surely increases the tonal variables. There is no best option as "Useful tones" are entirely subjective to the player. Personally speaking, I wouldn't have a bass that didn't have a pickup in the tight and honky zone. That's the pickup on which I play most of the time. I agree that tonal options are good though. I just prefer distance between the pickups, different positions, different string resonance, different pickup types, different sounds, blend to suit, bobs yer uncle.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1388950922' post='2328068'] ... that could have been something entirely unrelated to the carpet. Cosmic, man. [/quote] All things are related in the zone! Become one with the geometry, yeahhhh!!!

The rug is AMAZING though!

[quote name='louisthebass' timestamp='1388921271' post='2327568'] Rotosounds stainless steels. [/quote] Yup, I would have said so.

Shellac is your friend.

I've never played nor had a look at a Farida bass. In terms of my personal experience with both new and 2nd-hand basses, I'd say that maximum quality for the cash comes from 2nd-hand Matsumoku built basses.

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1388788548' post='2326206'] Is there a downside to having it? [/quote] Of course. It's a fundamental design flaw that such things should be necessary to experience a playable action on an instrument. It perplexes me, that instruments of this apparent value are so compromised. A shim lessens the structural integrity of the neck to body join and affects the transfer of vibration (thus resonance) through the instument, fact. You might as well make a bass from plywood if bodge-jobs like shims are built into basses.

If you've got a spare hour check this out. Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespear with Ernest Ranglin and Tyrone Downie, live in Finland in 2012. It's an excellent performance, and a nice bit of Sunday afternoon dub bliss for ya ... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jusaci34o1U"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jusaci34o1U[/url]

Somebody posted this on Basschat a while ago. I had never been attracted to P-basses, but this definitely gave me GAS in that unfamiliar territory ... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoVfamlcbYo[/media]

It would seem that there are many players who have been around the bass block and finally found peace in the simplicity of a P-bass. Being eternally drawn towards greater simplicity, I appreciate that. I can see the attraction.